HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 968
SONG OF SONGS 3
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His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
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Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and wild deer,
not to awaken love until the time is right.*
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Ah, I hear my lover coming!
He is leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My lover is like a swift gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
looking through the window,
peering into the room.
My lover said to me,
“Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!
Look, the winter is past,
and the rains are over and gone.
The flowers are springing up,
the season of singing birds* has come,
and the cooing of turtledoves fills
the air.
The fig trees are forming young fruit,
and the fragrant grapevines are
blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!”
Young Man
My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
and your face is lovely.
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Young Women of Jerusalem
Catch all the foxes,
those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
for the grapevines are blossoming!
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Young Woman
16 My lover is mine, and I am his.
He browses among the lilies.
17 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
return to me, my love, like a gazelle
or a young stag on the rugged
mountains.*
Young Woman
1 One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for
my lover.
I yearned for him, but he did not come.
2 So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam
the city,
searching in all its streets and squares.
I will search for the one I love.”
So I searched everywhere but did not
find him.
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The watchmen stopped me as they made
their rounds,
and I asked, “Have you seen the one
I love?”
Then scarcely had I left them
when I found my love!
I caught and held him tightly,
then I brought him to my mother’s house,
into my mother’s bed, where I had been
conceived.
Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and wild deer,
not to awaken love until the time is right.*
Young Women of Jerusalem
6 Who is this sweeping in from the
wilderness
like a cloud of smoke?
Who is it, fragrant with myrrh and
frankincense
and every kind of spice?
7 Look, it is Solomon’s carriage,
surrounded by sixty heroic men,
the best of Israel’s soldiers.
8 They are all skilled swordsmen,
experienced warriors.
Each wears a sword on his thigh,
ready to defend the king against an
attack in the night.
9 King Solomon’s carriage is built
of wood imported from Lebanon.
10 Its posts are silver,
its canopy gold;
its cushions are purple.
It was decorated with love
by the young women of Jerusalem.
Young Woman
Come out to see King Solomon,
young women of Jerusalem.*
He wears the crown his mother gave
him on his wedding day,
his most joyous day.
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Young Man
1 You are beautiful, my darling,
beautiful beyond words.
Your eyes are like doves
behind your veil.
Your hair falls in waves,
like a flock of goats winding down the
slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are as white as sheep,
recently shorn and freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
each tooth matched with its twin.*
3 Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is inviting.
4
2:7 Or not to awaken love until it is ready. 2:12 Or the season
of pruning vines. 2:17 Or on the hills of Bether. 3:5 Or
not to awaken love until it is ready. 3:11 Hebrew of Zion.
4:2 Hebrew Not one is missing; each has a twin.